Defenders of Foster Children Gather at State Capitol

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Original Title:Foster Youth Advocates Rally at State Capitol

People who try to help foster youth met at the State Capitol. They gave the governor’s office 200 postcards. The postcards were asking that two pending bills be signed.

One of the bills that they wanted the governor to sign would help foster youth receive money and other services from the state. It would also allow children to stay in foster care longer. If a foster child was getting their high school equivalency certificate they could stay in foster care until they were older than 18. Right now, the law only allows foster children to remain in the system if they are trying to get their high school diploma.

One man said that this law would have really helped him when he was in foster care. He had to take a lot of extra classes and also go to night school to finish in time.

The other bill would give foster youth the right to help make decisions that concerned themselves. It would let them have a say in what they wanted.

(This was adapted from an original story provided by News10 KXTV Sacramento.)

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